Reconciliation
by Peach Wookiee
Summary: Dudley Dursley decides to make up with Harry about two years after leaving Privet Drive.  Update: Final Chapter Epilogue!  This is a trilogy with a bookend!
1. Dudley Dursley

Chapter I: Dudley Dursley

_This is my first (and maybe only) Harry Potter fic. This story happens some time after the events of __**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**__. As all of you hardcore Potterheads know, before Harry left Number Four, Privet Drive, he and his cousin, Dudley finally had a reconciliation of sorts. I know that in the epilogue of __**Deathly Hallows**__ that JK Rowling makes no mention of the Dursleys, so I'd like to fill in a blank, if you will. Harry Potter and all related characters are © JK Rowling and Scholastic, INC. This story is © Peach Wookiee Tales._

_**Author's note, four years later: **__I decided to edit this tale since I edited its successor. I do hope you enjoy the minor changes. When I first wrote this, it was intended as a one-shot. _

It had been well over a year since Dudley Dursley had laid eyes on the home of his childhood. Number Four, Privet Drive had sat empty since the day he, his mother and father and his wizard cousin, Harry had left the house because of an imminent threat. Petunia and Vernon Dursley, though quite disgruntled at having to leave Privet Drive, had elected not to return yet "because, well, I'm rather enjoying our vacation house in Majorca," Petunia had said tersely.

"And besides, _he's _probably taken the house anyway or filled it with things from _his lot_, and we can't face the neighbors after that," Vernon had growled.

Dudley, however, had other ideas. After about nineteen years of agreeing with almost everything his parents did (or at least going along with them), Dudley had decided to go off on his own for a bit. "BOY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Vernon had shouted when Dudley had told them what he was doing.

"I'm going back there. We got the letter from the Ministry and Harry's mum and dad's murderer is dead. His followers have been rounded up. Ms. Jones and Mr. Diggle said we don't have to stay here any longer."

"Well, after having put up with what we put up with for sixteen years..." Petunia said, and Dudley cut her off.

"Taking care of your only sister's son. Oh, bloody horrible, that," he said sarcastically with a look on his face that horrified his parents.

"D-dudders? He was a nasty…"

"Like bloody hell he was! Despite you, Dad and me treating him like filth…"

Now it was Vernon's turn to cut someone off. "YOU WILL TAKE THAT BACK, YOUNG MAN! WHO IN THE RUDDY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ADDRESSING? WE TREATED HIM BETTER THAN HE DESERVED, THE LITTLE INGRATE!"

Dudley countered, also shouting, "YEAH, RIGHT! YOU GAVE HIM MY PATHETIC CASTOFFS THAT DIDN'T FIT, NO TOYS OR ANYTHING ON HIS BIRTHDAY WHILE I GOT BLOODY NEAR EVERYTHING I SAID I WANTED! YOU, MUM, TREATED HIM LIKE A SLAVE AND SHOWED ME IT WAS OKAY TO BE MEAN TO HIM! AND WHAT ABOUT AUNT MARGE, HMMM? ALL HE DID WAS HAVE THE MISFORTUNE TO BE BORN INTO OUR HORRIBLE FAMILY!"

Vernon Dursley had a vein throbbing in his forehead. "You, Dudley, are unbelievable. We did nothing to…"

"What would the Children's Welfare Department say if they knew you'd made Harry live in a cupboard under a staircase for almost eleven years? For that matter, Dad, what would they say at Grunnings?" Dudley had a strange look on his face when he said this. "And Mum, what would the neighbors say if they knew Harry was scruffy because we made him be that way?"

Petunia looked horrified, and Vernon had turned a horrible shade of purple. "You… You…"

"I'm going to find Harry. And so help me, I'm going to make things right somehow."

HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP

And so it was that Dudley Dursley found himself on Privet Drive, about 18 years after his cousin had been left on Number 4's doorstep, wrapped in a blanket with a letter. _It doesn't look that different,_ he thought. Someone had kept the yard up, though the house had a lonely look about it, as it hadn't had humans inside of it for over two years. Dudley had gotten the key from his father and walked up to the door. "I'm back," he whispered, and unlocked the door. As he'd thought, someone had gone to great lengths to keep up the house. But who?

"Greetings, Master Dudley," a squeaky little voice said.

"Huh? Who's there?" he asked.

"Please look down, Master Dudley."

Dudley looked down, and nearly jumped back in shock. "Who—who are you?" The little creature that stared up at him was wearing a red blouse and skirt with matching shoes, as well as a matching hat that he could see had large bat like ears sticking out of them.

"My name is Winky," the little creature said, introducing herself. "I is a house elf, you see. We usually do not works in Muggle homes, but Mistress McGonagall gives me a mission two years ago for the Order of the Phoenix. 'Winky,' she says, 'I needs you to help protect Harry Potter's family.' I had been very sad because my last masters was killed by Lord Voldemort, and Mistress McGonagall wanted me to be happy again. So she sends me here to keep up the house, sir. And it is very lonely, but I likes the work, sir."

"You're like the house elf Harry talked about! You're like Dobby! Here now, what's wrong?" he asked, because the house elf burst into tears.

"Dobby died, saving Harry Potter from a bad Dark witch."

"Someone else tried to kill Harry?" he asked, sitting his large self on the floor. "Yes, Master Dudley," she continued, tears falling. "Many Dark witches and wizards worked for Voldemort and were to bring Harry Potter to him, but some wished to kill him and then bring him to their master. But Dobby would not let Bellatrix Lestrange kill Harry Potter. Harry Potter buried Dobby himself."

Dudley found himself asking the little house elf many questions about Harry, and it seemed she knew a lot. _How,_ Dudley asked himself, _how could I let myself not know so much about Harry, and why could Mum never bring herself to tell me?_ When Winky was finished, Dudley asked her, "Why do you call me 'Master Dudley?'"

"Because you is my master now, sir. Mistress McGonagall told me to serve Harry Potter's family as I served my masters, the Crouches."

"But I'm a Muggle. Does that matter?"

"No," Winky said, "as you is related to Harry Potter."

"Okay, then, Winky," he said kindly, "do you know where my cousin is, by any chance?"

"Yes, Master Dudley."

"I'd like to see him if it's possible. Could you deliver a message to him for me?" Winky nodded.

"Tell him I'd like to meet with him and… just talk for a while if that's all right." Winky curtsied and Disapparated.

Two days later, as Dudley sat at the kitchen table, enjoying fresh sliced fruit, kippers and toast, there was a knock at the front door. He got up, checked through the peephole, and there was… "Harry? Harry, is that you?" The face on the other side of the peephole smiled.

Dudley opened the door, and sure enough, there was a young man with decidedly untidy black hair and bright green eyes, dressed in khaki pants and a sweater. "Hey, Big D." Dudley couldn't say why, exactly, but the very sight of his cousin made him misty-eyed. "Er… Dudley, are you all right?" the young man in glasses asked, genuinely bewildered.

"Yeah, Harry. Please come in."

"Where are Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, coming into the house.

"They're in Majorca. That's where we'd been hiding. But they decided to stay there longer even after the wizard and witch protecting us said it was safe to return here as… reparations," Dudley said with obvious disgust.

"Dudley? Is everything all right with you and your parents?" Harry asked as he hung up his coat on the coat rack next to Dudley's leather jacket.

"Not really. Mum and Dad couldn't believe I wanted to find you. We… had a bit of a falling out. Dad's really not thrilled with this, but quite frankly, I don't care. You're my cousin and you really should've been more like my brother."

At this point, Harry James Potter was genuinely bewildered. _What's come over Dudley? First saying I'm "not a waste of space" and now he's… apologizing? What in the name of Dumbledore..?_ "Um… where exactly is Dudley and what have you done with him?"

Dudley looked back at Harry and understood. "I've had some changes while you haven't seen me, Harry. I guess I just realized how wrong we were to treat you the way we did. Dad and Mum, though… well, Dad more, really… I don't know if they'll ever see that they were wrong. But I want us to be at least friends."

Harry smiled at this. "I think we can manage that."

The cousins talked about all manner of things through that day. Harry learned more about Dudley's old private school, Smeltings, and Harry told Dudley about Hogwarts, his friends, all that had occurred in the past two years since they last saw each other and of course, Harry's engagement to Ginny Weasley. "Oh, she's lovely, Harry," Dudley breathed, looking at Ginny's photo. "So how did Ron take it?"

"Well, better than I thought he would, though I expect Molly talked to him beforehand and Hermione threatened him." They shared a laugh at this.

"So, Harry, d'you know anyone I might be able to date?"

"You want me to find someone for you, Big D? I can work magic, but I can't work miracles!"

"Just try, won't you?"

"Okay."

HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP

That single meeting led to many others. Harry did set Dudley up on dates with his magical witch friends and eventually, Dudley did find a witch he married (much to Vernon and Petunia Dursley's horror). Harry and Dudley were able to achieve what they didn't in childhood: they became friends.

The End


	2. Petunia Dursley

Chapter II: Petunia Dursley

_By popular demand and noticing just how high the hit count was on this story, I have decided to add a second chapter. So Dudley and Harry have made up and become the friends they should have been. But what about Petunia? She's lost her "ickle Diddykins" because she hasn't been able to let go of the jealousy toward her sister, and as Professor Dumbledore once observed, it's a lot harder to admit you were wrong than to be right. So how will Petunia cope?_

_**Author's note, four years later: **__Some minor tweaks have been made to improve this chapter. And in my research, I often wonder if Petunia had married differently, would she have reconciled with her sister? Please enjoy and remember that I am not JK Rowling or an employee of Scholastic; therefore, I do not own the world of Harry Potter._

_"ALL HE DID WAS HAVE THE MISFORTUNE OF BEING BORN INTO OUR HORRIBLE FAMILY!"_ Dudley had shouted. It had been three months since Dudley had left Majorca and presumably returned to Privet Drive. Presumably, Petunia Dursley could only think because she hadn't heard from her only child in all that time. She started to think back to the last time she'd seen Lily, her only little sister, as she gazed unseeingly at the blue sea…

"Happy New Year's Eve, Tuney," Lily Potter said as she walked into Number Four Privet Drive with her husband, James on December 31, 1980. Baby Harry was gurgling in her arms.

"Happy New Year's Eve, Lily. James, oh, and how's Harry?" Petunia asked, studying her dark-haired nephew.

"I can't believe how quickly he's growing. He's so well-coordinated, and he's already crawling, Tuney!" Dudley, only slightly a month older than Harry, wasn't crawling yet, much to Petunia's dismay.

"Hi, everyone!" James Potter said as he came into the house from the cold. He was used to Muggle dwellings as quite a few of his friends from Hogwarts were Muggles and members of the Order of the Phoenix, so he just casually sauntered in as if from the Quidditch field.

Vernon Dursley, however, wasn't quite as at ease. "Hello, then, Potter."

"Oh, when are you going to lighten up and call me James, Vernon? Here now, we're supposed to be buddies, then!" He gave the heavyset man with the heavy blonde mustache a winning smile which faltered when he realized Vernon Dursley wasn't warming up to him. Little Harry, meanwhile, now happily crawling in the playpen with his cousin, Dudley, was clearly enjoying himself. Dudley was playing with his toes while Harry was trying to get his cousin to pay attention and maybe play with him.

The Dursleys just wouldn't warm up to the Potters. The rest of the evening was tense, and other than Vernon talking about his drill company, James talking a little bit about his job, or Lily and Petunia talking about motherhood, there was no conversation. At midnight, the adults rang in 1981. Vernon drank several glasses of champagne, as did Petunia, while James and Lily drank soda because they had to drive home. With Lord Voldemort on their tail, they figured acting like Muggles might be a good way of hiding. Unfortunately, James and Lily would have to use magic this night.

"What the ruddy hell is he doing?" Vernon growled. Baby Harry, apparently deep in thought, was making a teddy bear rise off the ground and was giggling madly.

"Oh, Harry, put the bear down," Lily said gently, picking up her son who was already in his warm winter pajamas. "Magical babies can't control themselves at this age, Vernon. It's perfectly natural."

"Perfectly freakish, you mean," Vernon countered snidely.

"Vernon," Petunia whispered, wishing he'd keep his fool mouth shut, while at the same time…

"FREAK!" Petunia had shouted at her little sister as she headed off to the school Petunia herself, deep down, would've given anything to attend on September 1, 1971. She knew she'd hurt Lily deeply, but part of Petunia Evans said to herself, _It's a freak's school anyway. Why go there when there are perfectly normal boys in the normal world?_

"Petunia, darling," Mr. Evans asked his eldest daughter as they re-entered the Muggle world, "is everything all right?"

"It's fine, Dad. Lily's going off to school and so am I."

"Tuney, dear, Dad and I have just been noticing you and Lily have been… well, at odds lately. What's going on?" Mrs. Evans asked. "Is it because you can't go to Hogwarts? Not everyone's meant to be magical…"

"She's a freak! And you're both proud of it!"

"Lily has a gift, dear, and obviously she's not the only child in the world. You should be glad for your sister. And be glad you have your gifts too." Had Petunia Evans been different, this kindly given speech might have been accepted. But for Petunia at this moment, it planted the seeds of anger. She had had no magical powers, and envied her little sister for being so gifted, for being prettier, for being things Petunia would never be. Petunia had tried to go to Hogwarts, especially after seeing Diagon Alley with Lily and their parents, but the letter from Professor Albus Dumbledore and the knowledge that Lily and Severus Snape had found said letter had been too much…

"'Perfectly freakish?'" James Potter asked in disbelief just after 1981 had been rung in. "Vernon? I don't understand."

"Let me spell it out for you, Potter. You. Are. A. Freak. You and your kind are abnormalities."

"Tuney?" Lily asked, her eyes filling with hurt, "You don't believe this, do you?"

All of the resentment that had built up for nearly ten years in Petunia Evans-Dursley chose to erupt. "Actually, I do, and I'll thank you to keep that freak son of yours away from my perfectly normal non-freak son." It was cruel, but something in the elder sister didn't care about how much pain she was causing.

"Tuney…" Lily's bright green eyes were even brighter with tears and pain.

"It's like my sister, Marge says about dogs and it'll be true of your son. If there's something wrong with the bitch, there's bound to be something wrong with the pup," Vernon said, grinning nastily.

James Potter's hazel eyes glistened dangerously. "How dare you say such a thing about my wife and my son? Most Muggles I know are friendly, but then… most Muggles are obviously taught manners that even a monkey knows. You, Vernon, have the manners of the poltergeist at Hogwarts, which is to say none at all."

"Get out of here," Vernon said, picking up a vase and throwing it squarely at Lily Evans Potter's head.

"Protego!" shouted James, as Lily picked up baby Harry and ran from her sister's house. "We won't be back," James growled. "I hope you're happy in the life you've chosen, Petunia." It would be the last time Petunia saw her sister and brother-in-law alive…

Now, some nineteen years later, Petunia really regretted how she'd last talked to her sister and allowed Vernon to treat her. "Vernon… I'm going after Dudley."

"What? Petunia…"

"He was right. And I was horrible to Harry."

"We did it for…"

"'His own good,' did we really? He was my nephew. I treated him terribly, and it only took my own son leaving and shouting about what a horrible family we were to make me realize it. A fine mother I've been and a fine aunt, too!" she said, nearly in tears.

Vernon stared at his wife, his jaw hanging open. "Don't tell me… you actually…"

"Lily was no freak, and I was jealous all those years, Vernon. I would've given anything to be like Lily, but I was so different. She never had to fight for friends and I did. She had it easier than I did, and I grew to hate her for it. I should've been happy for her, and I wasn't. And I allowed you to call her a bitch and to chase her from our home, Vernon. When you realize how wrong we were to treat Harry the way we did, you can return to Privet Drive."

Within the hour, Petunia Dursley had packed her bags and left Majorca, leaving Vernon Dursley to his own thoughts.

One day later, Petunia Dursley stood at the front door of Privet Drive. She pulled out her key, only to find out the door was unlocked. "Hello? Dudders?"

She heard footsteps, and sure enough… "Mum?"

There he was… "Dudders!" She was crying, but Dudley seemed distant.

"Are you ready to apologize, Mum?"

"Dudley, I'm sorry we…"

"Not to me," Dudley said, "to Harry. He's here. We've been eating lunch and dinner together almost every day."

Petunia took a deep breath. "I am. And I've had a bit of a falling out with your father. I told him that if he couldn't find it in himself to apologize to Harry, he could stay in Majorca."

"Mum," Dudley said in shock, and then hugged his mother. "Think Dad'll come around?"

"I hope so, dear. When's Harry coming?"

"Any minute. We're having dinner together this evening."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I shall get it, Master Dudley," said a squeaky voice. And Petunia was shocked to see a small elf running to the door. "It is Master Harry!"

"Who..?"

"That's my house elf, Mum. Her name's Winky." Dudley went to the door, and there he was. Petunia stayed hidden for a moment, not wanting her nephew to see her just yet.

He looked almost like James, except… Lily's eyes. _He has Lily's eyes. Why didn't I let myself see them before? _Petunia Dursley asked herself.

"So what's up, Big D?" Harry asked, looking at his cousin.

"Well, we have a guest for dinner."

"Oh, who?" the boy with untidy black hair asked.

"Mum's here."

"Aunt Petunia?"

"Yeah. Mum? C'mon," Dudley said, "he knows you're here."

And Petunia stepped out into the hall. "Hello, Aunt Petunia," he said.

"Harry… oh, Harry." Her pale green eyes actually filled with tears. His eyes were Lily's; even some of his mannerisms were hers. How could she have shut him out? And yet she had. _Is it too late? Have I lost the chance to make up,_ she wondered.

As he had been a few months earlier, Harry was beside himself. Could this be the same Aunt Petunia that had made him labor while Dudley idled? He stood frozen for a moment before he found his voice. "Aunt Petunia, what..?"

"Harry… I was horrible to you, and I'd understand if what I'm about to say wasn't accepted. But I wanted to apologize for how I treated you for sixteen years. It took my own son realizing it and calling me on it, but… I am sorry, Harry, because I was jealous of your mother and I lost the chance to apologize to her when she died. And I took out all my jealousy on you. Can you forgive me? I'll even tell the neighbors that it was my fault you were scruffy all those years…"

If Harry had learned anything in his travels, it was that you forgive, even when it's hard. "Aunt Petunia… I forgive you…" Aunt and nephew embraced, healing the wounds of time.

**The End**

_Do I continue this story, and tell of who Dudley ends up marrying? Will Vernon and Petunia reconcile, or will he stay in Majorca or in a bachelor's hotel? Or should I leave it up to your imaginations? Let me know!_


	3. Vernon Dursley

Chapter III: Vernon Dursley

_ I've been honored by the hits and responses this little fiction, once a lowly one-shot, has received. By popular demand, I'm making this into a trilogy. Somehow, you can't have two Dursleys without the third. Thanks to the reviewers who have been strongly urging me to continue this fic and for the advisements. As usual, Harry Potter, his dysfunctional family, his family by heart, and his friends belong to the wonderful JK Rowling. This story, however, is mine._

_**Author's note, four years later: **__As I did then, I consider this the weaker chapter. Vernon is somewhat of a caricature of prejudice. He never changed in the course of the story and was only "nice" to Harry when it served his purposes. There's really not much to do with him. What I considered at the time was how he might react if Petunia and Dudley reconciled. To me, Vernon's probable conclusion seemed obvious. Thank you for your attention._

Vernon Dursley sat in Majorca another three months before it occurred to him that Petunia had been serious. _She's bloody left me_, he realized. _Maybe I should go and see where she is and if she's come to her senses._ It had been six months since his only child, Dudley had left Majorca in search of Harry, and three months, as previously mentioned, since Petunia had left to find her son and nephew. _Bloody idiots, both of them._ Vernon Dursley had had the most difficulty accepting the world of magic his nephew was part of and his wife had apparently wanted to be part of but never could join because of her lack of magical prowess. And now, he couldn't understand how his son and his wife could abandon him for… the boy.

To Vernon Dursley, his nephew was almost sub-human. _An idiot,_ he thought as he packed to head back to Privet Drive and his old life. _He was always a pathetic scrawny little idiot who was only good for serving me, and he didn't even do that right. And now he's put some kind of spell on Petunia and Dudley. I'll make him remove it and then… Then I'll rip his pathetic throat out. I'll kill him this time. I'll tell the police it was self-defense if he tries any hocus-pocus._ With that, the large man with the blonde mustache stepped out of the vacation home and into a taxi.

HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP

Several hours later, Vernon had checked into a hotel in Little Whinging, not too far from Privet Drive. He picked up the telephone and dialed his home number. "Hello, Dursley residence. Harry Potter speaking."

"BOY, WHERE'S YOUR AUNT AND SINCE WHEN DO YOUR KIND KNOW HOW TO USE THE TELEPHONE PROPERLY?" He didn't hear anything for a moment or two.

Then… "Oh, it's you," said Petunia. Evidently, she'd heard him bellowing. But why did she sound so terse?

"Pet…"

"When you can address my nephew in a civil tone, you may come to Privet Drive," Petunia said, cutting him off and hanging up on him.

The next day, Vernon resolved to keep his tongue restrained. Fortunately (in Vernon's opinion), Dudley answered. "Hello, Dursley residence. Dudley speaking."

"Dudders! How are you?"

"Hello, Dad. You heard Mum. Can you come here and be civil to Harry, at least?" His tone suggested that Vernon had better behave.

For several seconds, Vernon fought down what he really wanted to say, and instead answered, "All right, then. So when can I come?"

"This afternoon would be nice."

Accordingly, late in the afternoon, when dappled sunlight was bathing Privet Drive, Vernon Dursley found himself standing at the front door of Number Four. Rather than use the key that he had, he rang the door bell. The front door opened to reveal… no one. "Hello, Master Dursley," squeaked a voice.

Vernon looked down to see… "What the ruddy hell are you?"

"My name is Winky, sir," the bizarre little creature said. "I is a house elf, sir, here to serve Harry Potter's family."

Vernon followed her in the house, taking off his sport coat and dropping it on the floor. "Well, then, if you're here to serve me, elf, take this coat, hang it up and make damn sure it's clean."

"Yes, sir," Winky said, somewhat puzzled at his treatment because she had gotten nothing but love and kindness from Masters Harry and Dudley and Mistress Petunia.

"Hello, Vernon." It was the first time in three months that Vernon had seen Petunia. He reflected that she was a bit less tanned. Had he been a bit more observant, he would have noticed a softening of her eyes and face.

"Hello, Petunia, dear. So, where's Dudley… and Harry?" he asked.

"The boys are in the kitchen fixing dinner. It's really amazing. Harry just waves his wand and the basic chopping is done. I remember Lily being able to do that," she smiled fondly.

"You… never seemed to like magic before," he stated.

"Vernon, I told you, I was jealous of her. I would've given anything to go to Hogwarts."

And then Dudley was heard saying, "I'll be right back, Harry," and then Vernon saw his only son.

"Hello, Dudley."

"Hi, Dad."

And then Vernon said softly, "Now that it's just the three of us, why don't we go back to Majorca, hmm?"

"Vernon…"

"Dad…"

"Oh, come on. Why don't we go back there and just leave the boy?"

Then Dudley spoke. "Dad, we're not 'just leaving' Harry ever again. Besides, my girlfriend will be here any minute."

"Girlfriend? Dudley, that's incredible!" Vernon said, but Dudley wasn't finished.

"She's magic, Dad. She's like Harry."

Vernon's face turned a shade of red rarely found in nature. "What?" he asked softly, not concealing the dangerous tone in his own voice.

"Vernon," Petunia said, her voice calm but also dangerous, "she's a wonderful young woman, and she helped Harry get rid of Lord Voldemort once and for all. If it hadn't been for her, he probably wouldn't have gotten through the Ministry alive!"

"There wasn't an attack on…" Vernon began in confusion.

"Not the Muggle ministries, Vernon." By this, he knew she meant the Ministry of Magic. Vernon shaded further into a plum color. "I admit I was a bit horrified at first, but then I said to myself, 'What should we have done when Lily brought James home?' I got to know her like I never really got to know James. She's a little bit unusual, but she's lovely and Dudley loves her, so who am I to judge?"

Vernon kept quiet, but was obviously seething. Then Harry walked into the room. "Hello, Uncle Ver…" and the Boy Who Lived abruptly found his air supply being cut off.

Vernon had gotten his hand around his nephew's throat, and was squeezing. "You… abnormality, you take that spell off my family… or I'll make sure it comes off. I'll bet spells don't outlive their owners, boy!"

"VERNON!" Petunia shouted, "TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Harry was turning a most unbecoming shade of blue. WHAM! Harry found himself able to breathe again, and when he looked, Uncle Vernon was lying on the floor, stunned, and Dudley was just withdrawing his fist.

"Dad, get out. I don't want you near Luna. I don't want you near us again." Vernon sat up, shaking his head like a dog shakes its ears to get rid of water.

Then Petunia said something that was almost more terrible to Vernon Dursley than hearing the mention of Harry's unnaturalness. "I'll be seeing a lawyer, Vernon, and we'll be getting a divorce. And if you ever raise a hand against my boys or their girls again…"

"No, Aunt Petunia, there's no need to threaten that. I don't want anyone trying that for me again." Harry, now having recovered his powers of speech, decided he would speak to his uncle. "Uncle Vernon, I think it's a lost cause to expect that you'll ever truly accept me or that you'll accept who Dudley's chosen or that Aunt Petunia has made up with me. But I've learned something since I went to destroy Lord Voldemort. People aren't perfect, and you need to forgive. Life's too short. So whether or not you choose to accept me as I am, I forgive you," he concluded in an odd sort of calm.

"You have nothing to forgive me for, you freak, and I have nothing further to say." Vernon stormed out the front door, determined never to darken Privet Drive again.

A minute or so after Vernon Dursley left, presumably never to return, Dudley heard a "pop" in the kitchen. And then she walked in. "Hello, Dudley, darling," said a blonde girl with protuberant blue eyes and a perpetually dreamy expression.

"Hi, Luna. Dad just won't come round."

"It's all right. I think he's possessed by Zooilliger Grumptaculars. They cause humans to be perpetually prejudiced, you know," Luna Lovegood said. Harry, Petunia and Dudley looked at each other, bewildered for a moment, then started to laugh. "And you're possessed by Laugh Fairies…"

Vernon Dursley ended up renting an apartment not too far from his drilling firm after his attempt to kill his nephew. And he would never again darken the door of Number 4 Privet Drive. Two weeks after the confrontation, Vernon was working at Grunnings when his life of sloth, anger and gluttony finally caught up with him. He was heading to the bakery to buy himself a bun when he felt pain in his left arm and dropped dead of a massive heart attack.

**The End**

_Sorry, Luna/Neville-shippers! I like the pairing, but I thought since Ms. Rowling says it didn't happen, how about the ultimate "opposites attract" pairing? I think Dudley could use someone who's been touched by garden gnomes. And Luna would give the Dursley family a well-needed dose of humor. Blend them with the Weasleys and it gets even better! _

_ Was this a good ending for Vernon? And do I need an epilogue to this tale? Keep the reviews coming! And please check out and review my other tales!_


	4. Epilogue

Reconciliation: Epilogue—10 years later…

_Sorry, everyone, but this is the last—and I mean LAST—chapter in this fiction. I've really liked writing this, and I've been honored that so many people have taken an interest in what I've written. So far I haven't made any of you mad since I paired Dudley up with Luna. Well, let's wrap it up. And if you haven't already, please check and review my other fics. DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter is the rightful property of the magnificent JK Rowling. I don't own the Potter-verse; I just play in it._

_**Author's note, four years later:**__ It's been quite a week, editing this story and its companion. I thank you for being kind and patient. And I thank my readers, the old and the new. There is a blend of canon and non-canon here and in this universe, the canon development of Neville marrying Hannah Abbott does occur. I do, however, love the pairing of Neville and Luna, even if I've paired her with Dudley here._

Dudley Dursley and his wife Luna stood in their backyard in Ottery St. Catchpole with his cousin, Harry Potter and his wife Ginny, and Ginny's brother Ron Weasley and his wife, Hermione, along with the three families' children. Ginny was holding her newborn daughter, Lily, and Hermione was holding her new son, Hugo. Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny's two toddlers, Albus and James, were roughhousing along with Ron and Hermione's little girl, Rose, and Dudley and Luna's twins, Syrus and Celine who were two years old.

Celine had blonde hair and blue eyes like her mother, while Syrus had dark red hair like his late Great-Aunt Lily and blue eyes. "Celine's quite a lovely little girl," Harry commented, "and Syrus is a handsome little boy, Big D. Why didn't you name either of them after you?"

"Well, Luna thought it would be a good idea to name our first two children after the sun and the moon. Besides," the 28-year-old commented to his cousin with a huge smile, "we wanted to tell you… another little Dursley's coming into the world!"

"Luna?" Harry asked in shock.

"Yes, Harry, and I think we're having another set of twins. Daddy said that when a Crumple-Horned Snorkack is spotted in the time of the new moon…" Hermione Granger-Weasley, having long accepted her cousin-in-law's eccentricities, just mentally shrugged… "twins are very likely to be conceived."

"That's what Xeno said the last time, dear," Dudley said fondly, though not believing this.

Ron Weasley, meanwhile, had started cracking up. "I'm glad she married you, mate," he said, clapping Dudley on the shoulder. When Harry had reconciled with his cousin, the youngest Weasley male had chuckled and let bygones be bygones. Well… almost. There had been the incident with one of George's Canary Creams. Dudley, once free of the feathers, had only laughed and shook Ron's hand.

"Kids," called Petunia Dursley from inside the house, "Molly, Maureen and I have finished making supper, so bring the little darlings in, won't you?" Maureen Granger and Petunia, the Muggle mothers, had been helping Molly Weasley make dinner. It was a celebration that they now had every summer. Harry called it the Celebration of Nothing in Particular, but on this night, Dudley would've called it, and everyone would have agreed that it was the Celebration of Life.

**The End**

_That's it, everyone! Please review and PM me if you have questions or comments._


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